How to join

Current applications

If you'd like one of our 1 bedroom flats, 2 bedroom homes or 3 bedroom homes, we encourage you to join sooner rather than later so that you can:

1. be involved in decision making during the detailed design
2. have preferential plot choice (plots are chosen in order of joining)

Types of Membership

We have three types of membership of the Cohousing Company.  All three categories of member pay an annual membership fee.

1. Friends of Lancaster Cohousing

This is for people who wish to be involved in the project but are not full members.  This includes prospective members, members of other groups and anyone who wishes to support the project.

Friends can:

• attend General meetings and Project Development Team meetings (as observers)
• join in events e.g. a trip to an existing cohousing project, social events
• access to some internal commercially sensitive documents, e.g. budget
• be kept informed of progress and opportunities to join
• be assigned a full member ‘buddy’ and discuss full membership with them and other core members
• receive copies of our minutes

Households or individuals can join by filling in our application form and sending it by post, or by sending the following details to join@lancastercohousing.org.uk (and paying the annual fee of £30).  

1. Name & Address
2. Email
3. Telephone numbers (landline & mobile)
4. Other household members (please give D.O.B. if children):
5. Why are you interested in becoming a friend?
6. Are you a interested in buying a house (ie. becoming a prospective member)?
7. How did you hear about us?

2. Full membership is for households who have committed to the project and signed a pre sale agreement which is a contract to buy a home.

An investment loan of £5K is paid by households on becoming full members. This was chosen because it shows a firm commitment. Members also need to put down a 30% deposit within 6 weeks of being accepted.

Full members of the company are able to vote (by household). On joining members choose their home type, and members joining early in the project will have higher priority in plot choice. 
Applicants should fill in the full membership application, and this will be considered at a General Meeting of the company within 3 months.
Please note the following about full membership applications;

• We believe that it takes time for the “mutual selection” process to operate.  Please do try to come to socials and meetings so that we can get to know each other.
• As a minimum we would ask that applicants should have attended a social and 2 meetings including a Project Development Team (PDT) meeting before their application goes to a General meeting.  Usually General Meetings are the weekend of the second Sunday of the month and PDT meetings are every Monday 4.30-6.30pm.
• If you are applying to be a full / waiting pool member please also send a prospective membership form and £30 (if you haven't already).
• Please enclose a cheque for £5000 made out to Lancaster Cohousing Company Ltd. and 2 signed copies of the presale agreement. These will be cashed and signed by the Company if and when you are accepted as a full member at a General Meeting. Please email for the current version of the presale agreement.
• We ask applying/new members to attend an integration meeting before joining in our decision making process. Dates are on our front page. The integration meeting is an opportunity to find out a lot more detail about the project; how decisions are made, where we have got to in the process, how to access information, where and when we meet and socialise etc etc.

3. Waiting Pool membership is for households who wish to become full members if a vacancy becomes available or for those households that have been accepted by the full membership process at a General Meeting but are not prepared to sign a pre-sale agreement.

For more information see the policy here.

For more information on joining, please send an email to join@lancastercohousing.org.uk with your details.

Membership Forms

Friends of Lancaster Cohousing application form (74Kb)

Full membership application form (76Kb) or download in rtf format (Please include the finance questionnaire, a cheque and a signed presale agreement (see above) with your application)

Finance Questionnaire (29Kb) or download in RTF format